Guitars made of unconventional materials

[MikeyT]

Dan Armstrongs were used during the Mick Taylor era by Keith Richards and Bill Wyman, so I'm not going to talk bad about them.  Also used by another favorite - Greg Ginn.

I have a plexi Les Paul copy that sounds pretty good, but it is heavy, heavy.  Like 12-13lbs heavy.

   Cub Koda used one during Brownsville Station's heyday too. He usually sounded great on it, but it did seem a little bright on some of the album tracks on YEAH.

  I definitely prefer wood, but wouldn't mind having one of those Dan Armstrongs.

What do they go for ?

I'm guessing more than I'd want to pay.

$1,500 give or take?

    Thanks, Bandit. 

BTW, I just want you to know... I have no money. 

[EddieMullet]

I recently got one of those Kramer aluminum neck basses and the fretboard is made of the same stuff they make bowling balls out of (ebanol).  The only wood is the body and they fill the sides of the neck with wood.

The tones and sounds I get from it totally make me re think bass, I've played nothing but Fenders for years, but the Kramer is like a whole new dimension to bass playing.

They should still make them they are fucking awesome.

I gave up saving for a Rickenbacker to buy it and do not regret it one bit.

[RageofKlugman]

I remember coming across this website a few months back: http://www.simonleeguitars.com/guitars/ which has guitars made out of recycled plastics. Never played one so they might sound awful, but I think some of the finishes are pretty cool (they're under the materials tab).

[LogicalFrank]

Wasn't there a company that made an aluminum guitar that was full of holes?

I remember those. Like 10 years ago they were in all the guitar shops and now they are totally gone.  they sounded ok from what I remember but super fucking ugly!

I remember a couple of those... At least one was made by Rogue or some Musician's Friend or other catalog's generic brand.

[Hemisaurus]

I recently got one of those Kramer aluminum neck basses and the fretboard is made of the same stuff they make bowling balls out of (ebanol).  The only wood is the body and they fill the sides of the neck with wood.

Ebonol is technically known as "XXX Paper Phenolic", and is a paper-based high pressure laminate made from layers of black paper and phenolic resin.

[VOLVO)))]

This means you can fucking sand it! That's killer, the Lumie I gave nonoman head for has some chips in it that bother the piss out of me. The inlays also eat dick, I'll redo those when I refret it.

[Hemisaurus]

I'd imagine there will be a resin, with the same refractive index as Lucite, so that you can fill the holes and buff them back like new.

[clockwork green]

Just placed the deposit on the Electrical V. It's going to be a long 6-months, I'm not good with patience.

[VOLVO)))]

Please tell me you didn't get that fucking Masetro trem on it?

enggghhh.

[Corey Y]

That jazz bass made of recycled plastic looks kind of neat. Badass bridge, Bareknuckle pickups...but no price listed. Usually a bad sign for pocketbooks and that doesn't look like something I would pay a lot of money for. I would definitely try out some non-wood basses, if they were reasonably light. That's the thing that keeps me away from lucite and aluminum. My Kramer lumi neck bass sounds great, but it's an anchor and that's just part of the neck.

[clockwork green]

Please tell me you didn't get that fucking Masetro trem on it?

enggghhh.

No maestro, 1-pickup (bridge HB) and no pickguard (why have a clear body and cover up most of it?) and set up with 14-68 D'Addario's in B-standard. I don't get Maestro's, they make Bigsby's look like unshakable precision machines.

[Hemisaurus]

That jazz bass made of recycled plastic looks kind of neat. Badass bridge, Bareknuckle pickups...but no price listed. Usually a bad sign for pocketbooks and that doesn't look like something I would pay a lot of money for. I would definitely try out some non-wood basses, if they were reasonably light. That's the thing that keeps me away from lucite and aluminum. My Kramer lumi neck bass sounds great, but it's an anchor and that's just part of the neck.

It's not really non wood, it's wood cored and recycled plastic wings, like the Dano designs, except using plastic instead of Masonite and wood trim.

I suppose you could do aluminum neck like the Travis Beans, and use plastic for the wings and neck insert. If you make the neck out of recycled beer cans, you're up on the recycling. Think of the vibe of having all your old beercans in your instrument.

[Jor el]

The Abel Axe

[clockwork green]

I just realized that I totally forgot about Trussart guitars. They're actually really good sounding. Nice and resonate with plenty of sustain. When I consider getting another Tele it might be one of his.

[MikeyT]

It seems to me that by the time the tone goes through pickups, pedals, preamp, power amp and cabs, the properties of tone wood are kinda made insignificant, or at least minimized...I suspect electric guitars made from any wood will be museum relics a couple generations down the line (if the planet is still here !)

      You're insane right, of course !

When you guys do decide to ditch all your wood guitars; just ship 'em to MikeyT, Tulsa, OK.            

[EddieMullet]

I guess I was wrong about the ebanol thing, now i know not to believe everything I read on the internet.

I swore I read somewhere that they make bowling balls out of it.

[Hemisaurus]

Came across this looking for blueprints for a Ric bass.

http://www.hamiltonsteelguitars.com

[James1214]

Came across this looking for blueprints for a Ric bass.

http://www.hamiltonsteelguitars.com

I think this guitar is fucking gorgeous.

[blackkrosses]

These are supposed to be great but I'm told the aluminum neck is what makes the difference in sound. These seem to be maple necks mostly.

http://www.jamestrussart.com/#/gallery/3469899

[Mr. Foxen]

If I could get hold of a Kramer ali neck as a pattern I could totally start making them. Or even on of the Hartke ones. Maybe I'll carve up a wood neck as a pattern.

[Glitchyghost]

I own both an Armstrong and an Electrical acrylic body with aluminum neck.   Acrylic body with wood neck is my favorite combo.  It's not bright at all, and actually warmer than an all wood guitar.   There's a resonance acrylic creates which is unparallelled.    The aluminum/acrylic combo still has that resonance, but with more pronounced string clarity, and yes, massive amounts of brightness.  

One thing's for sure - you can't switch from your classic wood guitar, to a hybrid guitar, and not expect to have to alter all of your amp's settings in order to compensate.    Different world all together.    So, if you've been in  love with your finely tuned amp and pedal settings for years and years, and then plug in an aluminum guitar, you're going to need lots of patience and an open mind.  

[blackkrosses]

If I could get hold of a Kramer ali neck as a pattern I could totally start making them. Or even on of the Hartke ones. Maybe I'll carve up a wood neck as a pattern.

If you start making aluminum necks you got a fuckin customer right here.

[clockwork green]

I still have 2-3 months for my Electrical V...this is an exercise in patience I don't have and I don't like it.

[Mr. Foxen]

If I could get hold of a Kramer ali neck as a pattern I could totally start making them. Or even on of the Hartke ones. Maybe I'll carve up a wood neck as a pattern.

If you start making aluminum necks you got a fuckin customer right here.

Its funding the plan that's the issue, I never have enough chunk of cash to do a project that big. I did a run of steel scratchplates cause a load of people promised to buy and am still trying to sell them. Plan is Fender heel compatible so you can bolt right to a guitar. Lack of truss rod option is next problem.

[showdown]

This isn't some crazy space age material, but I think an RD made from IKEA birch countertop qualifies as "unconventional".